I cannot find a butcher in my area that doesn't have nuts in the store

Really ? A butcher ? You can't find a butcher store than don't use nuts ? I don't know what's up where you live but there 3 butcher stores in my little town and none of them use nuts or peanuts. That is VERY suprising. If you said you can't find a bakery, that I would not be surprised. But a butcher ? I fell out of my chair.

Sorry MomOnTheGo but I am extremely pleased to hear from you that a product label actually said "MADE IN A FACILITY THAT USES EGG". I can understand the frustration from your point of view but extremely sensitive individuals view it otherwise. I have been after companies for years to put that "exact" statement when anything relating to shellfish and crustaceans is in their facility.
Even a smidgen, the tiniest, itty bitty crumb of my allergens or their alternatives will send me into full blown anaphylaxis. Many companies state they clean their shared lines so well that there is no chance of cross-contamination. Maple Leaf said they cleaned their machines well and low and behold Listeria was found in a itty bitty spot in a machine. I use that as an example with these companies as they cannot guarantee 100% there is no cross-contamination.
For everything else I orginally planned on saying....was well said by both Renie and Julie.
As always there are two sides to everything. I believe it is best to add the extra wording, and if need be follow up with a call to the company for clarification. Yes, it takes time to make these calls and fustrating.
But...if by adding "it is made in a facility that uses ??" and it saves even one life - is it not worth it?

I am not familiar with Donut King, but I'm sure the risk of cross contamination in a high volume bakery is extremely high. It could be a very valid allergy statement.

Tim Horton's has a similar allergy statement saying that if you have allergies they recommend you do not eat anything in the store. Fair enough, as there is no way they can eliminate cross contamination. It may seem harsh but they are being up front about it.

none of their products contain and they dont use or have fish or fish products, or royal jelly, or crustaceans (i have checked with them)....in this case they have cut and pasted from our food standards guide and made one big broad statement to cover themselves.

I believe the Donut King franchise that caz is referring to, originated in Australia. I am not sure what their laws are like but in Canada it is illegal to discriminate based on a disability. Once an issue of cross contamination is identified, the company is expected to take action to remedy this and if they are not able to, then they must post an allergen statement.

Quote:

Precautionary labelling should only be used when, despite all reasonable measures, the inadvertent presence of allergens in food is unavoidable. It must not be used when an allergen or allergen-containing ingredient is deliberately added to a food. Furthermore, the use of a precautionary statement where there is no real risk of an allergen being present in the food is contrary to the Department's goal of enabling a variety of safe and nutritious food choices for the allergic consumer.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/allergen/precaution_label-etiquette-eng.php
The Australian government website states:

Quote:

Some food labels say ‘may contain’ certain allergens, such as ‘may contain nuts’. This is because the manufacturer is concerned that traces of nuts might be present in the food unintentionally, if, for example, the food is prepared on the same equipment as products that contain nuts. Allergy consumer support groups are working with industry to make these labels more helpful to allergy sufferers

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/foodallergies/
If you are in Australia, you may wish to discuss your concerns with:
Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia

[quote="caz"]Ok....so what does everyone think of this as a precautionary statement ...........ALLERGEN STATEMENT
Donut King strives to achieve the highest quality in cleanliness and food safety. Unfortunately due to the nature of the Donut King preparation and serving areas we cannot guarantee our products to be free from food allergens. .[/quote]

That was quite the list they posted and in their situation I would do exactly the same. The following is my own opinion, not to make you angry. In their line of business cross-contamination is extremely probable. Now from what I read you think some of the allergens were just put in there to cover their back end. Before writing I checked out one Donut King site and saw no seafood chowders listed like Tim Hortons. But, in case you are unaware of some facts - just because there is no fish or shellfish served that does not mean their derivites are not an ingredient. Fact - some gelatin is made from fish and other marine life..example shellfish. That alone can send me into full anaphylaxis.
Having said that, many of the other allergens could be said to be in the same category. Knowing they have within their facility a whole slew of allergens and possibly their derivities that could possibly cross-contaminate their products it is their "responsibilty" to let the allergic know.
I for one commend them. It is up to the allergic person to decide for themselves if they want to take the gamble and eat there. The choice is totally ours and ours alone.

"That was quite the list they posted and in their situation I would do exactly the same. The following is my own opinion, not to make you angry ...."

I have contacted them and they are reviewing their statement ....they don't use a lot of the products in their 'allergy statement '

I'm not angry lol! I just find that a lot of companies really are using these very broad statements just to cover themselves legally ..... There are no mandatory laws to give a 'real' risk indicator in Australia...so for a lot of them they just give a vague statement to cover them selves......I take much more notice of the 'made on a line that also uses peanut, dairy products etc'

Should have also said our best hope is from the allergen bureau here in aust. ...,they are in the process of making allergen statements 'meaningful' by giving companies guidelines about the REAL RISK with cross contamination...eg using a line that makes peanut products is a higher risk than storing a food in a factory that is next door to something that contains peanuts ....at the moment there is no way to gauge what is a real risk and what is a covering my butt risk.....this donut king one for the most part falls into the later category .

When precautionary statements are not meaningful, people stop believing them. The purpose of such statements is to assist the consumer in avoiding allergens but if consumers ignore them, they aren't effective.

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